NOT REALISED.

Auckland Star, Volume LXII, Issue 38, 14 February 1931, Page 10

NOT REALISED.

budget; estimate.

PUBLIC ACCOUNTS FOR YEAR.

DEFICIT OF £750,€00 FEARED.

RAILWAYS INTEREST PROBLEM.

A possible deficit approaching £750,000 in the public accounts for the current ? financial year Is anticipated by the Prime Minister. The figured for the first nine months show that the revenue amounted to £14,5G8,27G, a decrease of £1,469,936 compared with the corresponding period of last year, the main contributing cause being a decrease of £1,220,000 in the interest on railway capital liability. A falling off for the financial year of approximately £750,000 was allowed for in the Budget, but in recent months railway' revenue showed a considerable falling off, and it is now. clear that the amount of interest than can be paid will fall short of the estimate by some hundreds of thousands of pounds. Customs revenue for the nine months was approximately £713,000 less, but a decrease of £3G7,000 was allowed for in the Budget. As imports continue to show a heavy falling off it is not an-' ticipated the shortage will be_ made good before December 31. An increase of £110,000 under the heading of Stamp and Death Duties, anticipated and allowed for in the Budget, partly offset the decreases referred to. Revenue from petrol tax, tyre tax, and duties and licences on motor vehicles increased by £265,000, but this will not affect the result in the Consolidated Fund, as tre revenue passes automatically to the Main Highways account a'nd the local bodies. Expenditure Decreases. Expenditure, which amounted to £18,380.505, shows a decrease of £478,055, permanent appropriations falling by £351,383 and annual charges by £126,672. Under the permanent appropriations there was an increase of £130.000 for debt charges, but this was allowed for in the Estimates. Mainly due to the transfer to the Main Highways account of the charge for subsidies to local bodies and to the cancellation of the subsidies on branch railway lines, expenditure under special Acts shows a net decrease of £480,000. Pensions increased by £72,000. Departmental votes as a whole show a net decrease -of £127,000, the - contributing appropriations being defence and naval defence: ■ Although education and some other votes reveal increases, the returns generally indicate that departmental expenditure is being, kept within the curtailed estimates for .the finnncial year. "Well Below Estimate." The Prime Minister says the nine months' results clearly indicate that the revenue for the. financial year is well below the Bud-et estimate. At the close of the half-year, measures were taken to meet thp situation and enable the accounts to be balanced, but since then an unprecedented fall in primary produce prices occurred, involving the loss of many millions to the national income, and the resulting contraction in business, together with exchange rates raised to heights undreamt of in the Dominion, led to a falling off in imports and customs revenue beyond'all expectations. Under such abnormal conditions close budgeting is almost impossible. Every effort will continue to be made to reduce the 'net to a minimum, but there is no possibility, with the finances already strained to cope with an expected shortage in Customs, of also making good the anticipated large shortage in railway interest. Consequently, i'u spite of the sacrifices the people arc- galled upon to make and the steps taken by the Government to balance the Budget, the position, as now seen, indicates that the financial year will close with a deficit which may possibly reach £750,000, without taking into consideration any expenditure which may he incurred before March 31 on accou'nt of the earthquake.